Jessica Van Meter, a graduate of Tulane University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology, is unafraid of tackling some of the most difficult challenges in nursing.

With graduate degrees from Vanderbilt School of Nursing including a Master of Science in Nursing (with a specialty in Forensics), and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice and a Graduate Certificate in Global Health, Jessica today is a Flight Nurse at Vanderbilt LifeFlight 3 in Clarksville, Tennessee.

After working at Vanderbilt’s Regional Burn Center, Trauma Unit, and Pediatric Emergency Department, she joined Vanderbilt LifeFlight in 2011, while also serving as faculty at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing within the division of Global and Community Health.

In conjunction with the International Health division of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine, Jessica acts as the Program Director for the Bachelor of Science in Emergency Nursing program at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in Guyana, South America. The program, approved by both the Guyana Ministry of Health as well as the University of Guyana, will be graduating their first class of nurses in November 2018, including emergency nursing students undergoing training in Advanced Cardiac Life Support.

Jessica has been an active supporter of RAD-AID’s nursing program, collaborating on the development of an additional radiology nursing training module in tandem to the Emergency nursing curriculum. This joint venture contributes towards the advancement of nursing education in Guyana and the management of patients undergoing CT with contrast, in turn supporting the implementation of a new 64 slice CT scanner and advanced imaging capabilities donated by Philips Corporation this year.

Nurses With Global Impact’s partner, RAD-AID International, nominated Jessica for an award which will be given to Jessica at our May 11, 2018 event at the United Nations.

In nominating here, the RAD-AID team called out Jessica’s outstanding nursing leadership, not only in global health, but also in advancing nursing education and clinical practice through her exceptional work both nationally and internationally.

We will celebrate RAD-AID’s support for this collaboration towards building health care capacity in Guyana, and its synergy with radiology through RAD-AID’s newly created radiology residency program in Guyana and the recent creation of a RAD-AID Chapter at Vanderbilt University – a tremendous step forward in bringing international nursing initiatives to a new level.

– Deb